diff --git a/include/h.h b/include/h.h
index 74ad405f9..9883ebc7c 100644
--- a/include/h.h
+++ b/include/h.h
@@ -807,7 +807,7 @@ extern int process_packet(Client *cptr, char *readbuf, int length, int killsafel
 extern void sendto_realops_and_log(FORMAT_STRING(const char *fmt), ...) __attribute__((format(printf,1,2)));
 extern int parse_chanmode(ParseMode *pm, char *modebuf_in, char *parabuf_in);
 extern void config_report_ssl_error(void);
-extern int dead_link(Client *to, char *notice);
+extern int dead_socket(Client *to, char *notice);
 extern Match *unreal_create_match(MatchType type, char *str, char **error);
 extern void unreal_delete_match(Match *m);
 extern int unreal_match(Match *m, char *str);
diff --git a/include/struct.h b/include/struct.h
index 6e726482d..e8fc5cca5 100644
--- a/include/struct.h
+++ b/include/struct.h
@@ -1159,7 +1159,7 @@ struct LocalClient {
 #ifdef DEBUGMODE
 	time_t cputime;			/**< Something with debugging (why is this a time_t? TODO) */
 #endif
-	char *error_str;		/**< Quit reason set by dead_link() in case of socket/buffer error, later used by exit_client() */
+	char *error_str;		/**< Quit reason set by dead_socket() in case of socket/buffer error, later used by exit_client() */
 	char sasl_agent[NICKLEN + 1];	/**< SASL: SASL Agent the user is interacting with */
 	unsigned char sasl_out;		/**< SASL: Number of outgoing sasl messages */
 	unsigned char sasl_complete;	/**< SASL: >0 if SASL authentication was successful */
diff --git a/src/bsd.c b/src/bsd.c
index 2cd01f3e4..bff907f59 100644
--- a/src/bsd.c
+++ b/src/bsd.c
@@ -563,7 +563,7 @@ void reject_insecure_server(Client *cptr)
 	                         "If you insist with insecure linking then you can set link::options::outgoing::insecure "
 	                         "(NOT recommended!).",
 	                         cptr->name);
-	dead_link(cptr, "Rejected link without SSL/TLS");
+	dead_socket(cptr, "Rejected link without SSL/TLS");
 }
 
 void start_server_handshake(Client *cptr)
@@ -1112,7 +1112,7 @@ static void parse_client_queued(Client *cptr)
  * @param readbuf     The read buffer
  * @param length      The length of the data
  * @param killsafely  If 1 then we may call exit_client() if the client
- *                    is flooding. If 0 then we use dead_link().
+ *                    is flooding. If 0 then we use dead_socket().
  * @returns 1 in normal circumstances, 0 if client was killed.
  * @notes If killsafely is 1 and the return value is 0 then
  *        you may not touch 'cptr' after calling this function
@@ -1138,7 +1138,7 @@ int process_packet(Client *cptr, char *readbuf, int length, int killsafely)
 		if (!killsafely)
 			ban_flooder(cptr);
 		else
-			dead_link(cptr, "Flood from unknown connection");
+			dead_socket(cptr, "Flood from unknown connection");
 		return 0;
 	}
 
@@ -1154,7 +1154,7 @@ int process_packet(Client *cptr, char *readbuf, int length, int killsafely)
 		if (!killsafely)
 			exit_client(cptr, NULL, "Excess Flood");
 		else
-			dead_link(cptr, "Excess Flood");
+			dead_socket(cptr, "Excess Flood");
 		return 0;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/modules/tls_antidos.c b/src/modules/tls_antidos.c
index 3d2c0b6ba..66beaa772 100644
--- a/src/modules/tls_antidos.c
+++ b/src/modules/tls_antidos.c
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ void ssl_info_callback(const SSL *ssl, int where, int ret)
 			{
 				ircd_log(LOG_ERROR, "TLS Handshake flood detected from %s -- killed", get_client_name(acptr, TRUE));
 				sendto_realops("TLS Handshake flood detected from %s -- killed", get_client_name(acptr, TRUE));
-				dead_link(acptr, "TLS Handshake flood detected");
+				dead_socket(acptr, "TLS Handshake flood detected");
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/src/modules/webredir.c b/src/modules/webredir.c
index c1433b58b..3cfadf828 100644
--- a/src/modules/webredir.c
+++ b/src/modules/webredir.c
@@ -197,5 +197,5 @@ CMD_FUNC(webredir)
 
 	sendto_one(sptr, NULL, "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
 	sendto_one(sptr, NULL, "Location: %s\r\n\r\n", cfg.url);
-	dead_link(sptr, "Connection closed");
+	dead_socket(sptr, "Connection closed");
 }
diff --git a/src/modules/websocket.c b/src/modules/websocket.c
index b8782fb5d..6b60ab64f 100644
--- a/src/modules/websocket.c
+++ b/src/modules/websocket.c
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ int websocket_handle_websocket(Client *sptr, char *readbuf2, int length2)
 	length = length1 + length2;
 	if (length > sizeof(readbuf)-1)
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "Illegal buffer stacking/Excess flood");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "Illegal buffer stacking/Excess flood");
 		return 0;
 	}
 
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ int websocket_handle_handshake(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int *length)
 		n = maxcopy;
 	if (n <= 0)
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "Oversized line");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "Oversized line");
 		return -1;
 	}
 	memcpy(netbuf+nprefix, readbuf, n); /* SAFE: see checking above */
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ int websocket_handle_handshake(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int *length)
 			if (strchr(value, ':'))
 			{
 				/* This would cause unserialization issues. Should be base64 anyway */
-				dead_link(sptr, "Invalid characters in Sec-WebSocket-Key");
+				dead_socket(sptr, "Invalid characters in Sec-WebSocket-Key");
 				return -1;
 			}
 			safe_strdup(WSU(sptr)->handshake_key, value);
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ int websocket_handle_handshake(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int *length)
 				char *parx[2] = { NULL, NULL };
 				do_cmd(sptr, NULL, "GET", 1, parx);
 			}
-			dead_link(sptr, "Invalid WebSocket request");
+			dead_socket(sptr, "Invalid WebSocket request");
 			return -1;
 		}
 		websocket_complete_handshake(sptr);
@@ -620,13 +620,13 @@ int websocket_handle_packet(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int length)
 
 	if (!masked)
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "WebSocket packet not masked");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "WebSocket packet not masked");
 		return -1; /* Having the masked bit set is required (RFC6455 p29) */
 	}
 
 	if (len == 127)
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "WebSocket packet with insane size");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "WebSocket packet with insane size");
 		return -1; /* Packets requiring 64bit lengths are not supported. Would be insane. */
 	}
 
@@ -646,7 +646,7 @@ int websocket_handle_packet(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int length)
 		len = (readbuf[2] << 8) + readbuf[3];
 		if (len < 126)
 		{
-			dead_link(sptr, "WebSocket protocol violation (extended payload length too short)");
+			dead_socket(sptr, "WebSocket protocol violation (extended payload length too short)");
 			return -1; /* This is a violation (not a short read), see page 29 */
 		}
 		p += 2; /* advance pointer 2 bytes */
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ int websocket_handle_packet(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int length)
 			return total_packet_size;
 
 		case WSOP_CLOSE:
-			dead_link(sptr, "Connection closed"); /* TODO: Improve I guess */
+			dead_socket(sptr, "Connection closed"); /* TODO: Improve I guess */
 			return -1;
 
 		case WSOP_PING:
@@ -705,7 +705,7 @@ int websocket_handle_packet(Client *sptr, char *readbuf, int length)
 			return total_packet_size;
 
 		default:
-			dead_link(sptr, "WebSocket: Unknown opcode");
+			dead_socket(sptr, "WebSocket: Unknown opcode");
 			return -1;
 	}
 
@@ -716,7 +716,7 @@ int websocket_handle_packet_ping(Client *sptr, char *buf, int len)
 {
 	if (len > 500)
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "WebSocket: oversized PING request");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "WebSocket: oversized PING request");
 		return -1;
 	}
 	websocket_send_frame(sptr, WSOP_PONG, buf, len);
@@ -783,7 +783,7 @@ int websocket_send_frame(Client *sptr, int opcode, char *buf, int len)
 
 	if (DBufLength(&sptr->local->sendQ) > get_sendq(sptr))
 	{
-		dead_link(sptr, "Max SendQ exceeded");
+		dead_socket(sptr, "Max SendQ exceeded");
 		return -1;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/send.c b/src/send.c
index 4db1fe438..2b9bd66df 100644
--- a/src/send.c
+++ b/src/send.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ void vsendto_prefix_one(Client *to, Client *from, MessageTag *mtags,
 
 MODVAR int  current_serial;
 /*
-** dead_link
+** dead_socket
 **	An error has been detected. The link *must* be closed,
 **	but *cannot* call ExitClient (cmd_bye) from here.
 **	Instead, mark it as a dead socket. This should
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ MODVAR int  current_serial;
 **	notice will be the quit message. notice will also be
 **	sent to locally connected IRCOps in case 'to' is a server.
 */
-int dead_link(Client *to, char *notice)
+int dead_socket(Client *to, char *notice)
 {
 	DBufClear(&to->local->recvQ);
 	DBufClear(&to->local->sendQ);
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ int dead_link(Client *to, char *notice)
 	if (!IsUser(to) && !IsUnknown(to) && !IsClosing(to))
 		sendto_ops_and_log("Link to server %s (%s) closed: %s",
 			to->name, to->ip?to->ip:"<no-ip>", notice);
-	Debug((DEBUG_ERROR, "dead_link: %s - %s", notice, get_client_name(to, FALSE)));
+	Debug((DEBUG_ERROR, "dead_socket: %s - %s", notice, get_client_name(to, FALSE)));
 	safe_strdup(to->local->error_str, notice);
 	return -1;
 }
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ int send_queued(Client *to)
 		{
 			char buf[256];
 			snprintf(buf, 256, "Write error: %s", STRERROR(ERRNO));
-			return dead_link(to, buf);
+			return dead_socket(to, buf);
 		}
 		(void)dbuf_delete(&to->local->sendQ, rlen);
 		to->local->lastsq = DBufLength(&to->local->sendQ) / 1024;
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ void sendbufto_one(Client *to, char *msg, unsigned int quick)
 			sendto_ops("Max SendQ limit exceeded for %s: %u > %d",
 			    get_client_name(to, FALSE), DBufLength(&to->local->sendQ),
 			    get_sendq(to));
-		dead_link(to, "Max SendQ exceeded");
+		dead_socket(to, "Max SendQ exceeded");
 		return;
 	}